


Always Home

by hellotweetygirl



Series: Home [2]
Category: SHINee
Genre: Domestic, Domestic Fluff, Fluff, Friendship/Love, M/M, Slice of Life, choi tenderheart at work
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-03-13
Updated: 2017-03-13
Packaged: 2018-10-03 21:39:28
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,423
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10259033
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/hellotweetygirl/pseuds/hellotweetygirl
Summary: Minho always misses Kibum and he always wants to be home.





	

**Author's Note:**

  * For [seasofloops](https://archiveofourown.org/users/seasofloops/gifts).



> A/N: I began writing this a while back as a look into all the times in a day that Minho misses Kibum- and somewhere along the way I realized that I was writing a sequel to Coming Home. I’ve never written a sequel before but I’ve tried to keep the same tone and rhythm to this piece as I had in the first one. Please enjoy! (This could also be called the fic wherein Choi Tenderheart is an utter sap *ahem*)

“Hey sleepy head, time to get up.”

The softly spoken words immediately turned Minho’s mind from sleep, to awareness that another day was upon him. The rest of his body however, was not so willing to heed the call of wakefulness. Seconds crept by where he willed his body to begin functioning and felt his body recoil at his mind’s internal prompting.

The sharp intrusion of an insistent finger to his cheek was equally unwelcome.

Minho fisted the covers closer to him. He felt the looming presence over the bed and he knew just what the figure cloaked in shadows was capable of in times like this. 

“No, I don wanna.”

“You have to if you want to get that pretty face of yours fixed up before we get to filming this morning. Come on, move!" 

The figure above him smacked his arm gently and began to move away. Minho shot his arm out from under the covers and latched on to the person who so rudely had woken him dragging them backwards and onto the bed beside him. If he had to wake up his body wasn’t coming without a fight.

Kibum landed with a bounce and a huff and Minho’s arm received another smack. 

"Come on don’t be like this." 

Minho ignored Kibum’s scolding tone and wormed his way enough out of the blankets to be able to wind his arms around Kibum’s waist. He fought dirty when pushed and this morning his body was begging him not to put it through another punishing day of schedules.

Minho pressed his cheek firmly against the soft curve of Kibum’s hip. He inhaled deeply and could smell the freshness of blue skies, apple orchards, and musk radiating from the other and he knew Kibum had already had his shower….which meant Kibum had already let him sleep in an extra twenty minutes. 

Minho had rotten luck.

He whined aloud and buried his nose into Kibum relishing getting to hold him in the quiet dark of his room. Minho felt it was wholly unfair of life to make them get out of bed while the skies were still dark, but then who was he to curse fate when it had granted him a morning of Kibummie in the dorm? Who was he to bite the hand of fate when it offered him a gift? If getting awoken in the dark and beginning his day before dawn was the price he’d gladly pay it.

Minho loved small moments like these that were wholly theirs. Now a day’s their moments of companionship were largely stolen away in the late nights he would show up at Kibum’s door and seeking refuge from his own thoughts and from the harassments of the day. It was an arrangement that worked well for them and had brought a new closeness between them. Between them they could hold moments of quiet, and his looks of fondness were indulged and sometimes returned.

Over the last few years with Kibum moving out, and with them both taking on other projects- multiple projects- those moments had shifted in style and substance. They were adults with jobs and their lives didn’t always move in the same currents anymore. It wasn’t as easy or as common for him to be able to spend Kibum’s time as he chose. Minho knew it shouldn’t matter so much to him to be deprived of Kibum’s company, of his humor, of his smile and laugh- of his skin and his flesh and his warmth- but it did. The thought sitting in the back of his mind that sooner or later his good fortune would be all used up and they would float in different directions fought inside of him like the meeting of two oceans. 

"We don’t have time for this you know.” Minho could feel Kibum gently carding his fingers through his hair smoothing out the nighttime twists and turns that had matted his silver strands into tufts that stuck up every which way. The movement was gentle and soothing. He could lay here and be coddled forever and be quite happy he thought. But he knew Kibum would never let him and eventually the coddling would turn to sterner measures. 

Minho moaned in deep protest as he let go of Kibum, rolled over and sat up. It was time to shake both the sleepiness and melancholy from his brain and get going. He rubbed the sleep from his eyes and felt Kibum’s hand once again on him, patting his shoulder before he rose from the bed. 

“Thanks for the extra sleep Bum.”

Kibum paused in the doorway, his frame silhouetted with the light from the hall. “No problem sleepy head, I know you got back late.” Kibum’s head ducked in what looked like shyness but in his half awake, half asleep state Minho didn’t have the brain power to compute the action before Kibum was gone and he was alone again. 

Minho drew his knees up and ran his hands through his hair and down his face. He could smell the scent of blue sky’s lingering in the darkness, and he smiled. 

~~~

Minho looked at the pile of food before him and grinned. He whipped out his phone and took several pictures with varying degrees of zoom and artistic angling. Selecting several he tapped a name and hit send. 

Kibum was going to kill him. 

The fates had shown favorable on Minho today and the fans had provided a wonderful array of dishes on the truck that had rolled in an hour before they were set to break for lunch. Minho had secretly grinned as he went through the line and discovered foods that could arguably be called Kibum’s favorite foods. It kinda made him wonder of the truck had been delivered to the right SHINee member. His stomach wasn’t going to nitpick though and he piled his plate high, starving and eager to get recharged. It amused him that Kibum would be missing this. 

As he sat at one of the long plastic tables that had been thrown up for the diners Minho’s phone pinged with such rapid succession that he alert noise bunched up in its self and sounded like someone being censored for foul language. Minho swiped open the messages and chuckled softly to himself. Kibum’s commentary indeed was worthy of censor. Quickly he snapped another photo, one of him dangling noodles into his mouth and sent it in reply to the infuriated and languishing man on the other end of the chat window. 

The animated stickers that streamed at him began in the angry and violent vein but progressed to ones with large eyes, drooping lower lips, and streaming tears.

Minho couldn’t help but take pity on the other man.

_Wish you were with me_

>   
>  _Shut up._
> 
> _I know._
> 
> _Bring me some of those seafood pancakes or else_

Minho swallowed thickly against the noodles that suddenly felt like glue and rocks in his mouth. He flicked through several screens and tapped the sticker with the character giving ginormous double thumbs up. It was all he could manage against the longing that pressed against his chest making it hard to breathe.

~~~

Minho is in the trendy coffee shop and chic shopping district doing an interview for a magazine when he sees it hanging in as shop window down the street. It catches at his eye, tugs his focused attention from getting into the van for the next schedule and redirects it to more material things.

He’s diverted his path before the manager can scold him and he slips into the neatly kept shop setting off the bell above the door with a jingle. The cheerful sound brings the attention of the shop keeper who rushes forward to see to his needs.

Minho points to the matching sweaters in the window and with a chuckle and a knowing smile the old man pulls them from the display.

“Um, do you have any more of the dog ones? I kinda need it for two dogs- small ones.”

“Not a problem!” The shopkeeper sets up a trio of matching sweaters, one person sized and two dog sized out for Minho’s inspection. He loved it and his smile spread quickly across his face. A brief nod is all the encouragement the man needs to begin wrapping the items up. “This must be for someone special huh?”

Minho hears the teasing in the other’s tone and his smile goes soft. He feels sort of embarrassed for buying something so utterly ludicrous but the other part of him firmly overrules knowing that this is just the sort of nonsense that Kibum will love. Knowing he will love it also makes the scolding Kibum’s sharp tongue will deliver over buying presents worth the lecture. He loves making Kibum happy.

“Yes, it absolutely is.”

Back in the van he pulls a sheet out of his notebook and scribbles a note with the emotions that are bubbling close to the surface of his heart. 

_Did I thank you today for being wonderful?_

“Hyung,” He leans forward to tap the driver on his shoulder. “I need to make a quick stop.”

…

Minho is beyond eager to check the one voice mail message his phone reports is waiting when he walks out of his next appearance two hours later. He fidgets with the device on the walk down the parking garage ramp way and all the way into the vehicle. Only when they are moving and he can watch the buildings rush past him does he allow himself to tap the box that opens the recording and press the phone to his ear so he doesn’t miss a word.

_“OH MY GOSSH WHAT HAVE YOU DONE!?”_

Minho smiles at the exuberance expressed in Kibum’s tone as it blasts his eardrums out.

_“Where did you find these? They are adorable and perfect and just wait till I post about this everybody will wonder how I got something so freaking cool!”_

The recording goes quiet and still and Minho flicks a glance at the screen to assure himself he hasn’t lost the signal.

_“You stupid frog, why are you like this?”_ Kibum’s words say one thing but Minho knows his voice too well to believe them. He hears the love in them despite the protest. He smiles fondly at the other boy like he could actually see him. He expected nothing less than the response he’s gotten and he’s delighted right down to the tips of his toes that he can make Kibum react like this. Minho is about to end the call when he catches Kibum’s voice once more. 

_“Come home tonight yeobo. I need to see you.”_

Minho thinks his heart is going to burst open with how full it feels right in this moment.

~~~

Three nights have passed since Kibum’s request and Minho is dying a little on the inside that he’s been unable to fulfil their mutual wish to be together.

It has been a grueling three days back on set filming on location in the other end of the country and he’s thought of Kibum every minute as he has been surrounded by the other boy’s home territory.

Now as the streetlamps zoom past in staccato rhythm and the circle of their light blinks on and off inside the van he wishes that the miles between where he is and where he wants to be would be swallowed up within the blinking of his sleepy eyes.

Minho crawls to the very back of the van and turns the heater to full blast. He lays his head against the glass that holds the chill of the night and dials the number his fingers have itched after.

“Hey Bummie.”

“Minho?” Kibum’s voice is full of sleep and part of Minho feels terrible for waking him. The other part of him is exhausted and needy and feels enormously selfish. He willfully refuses to hang up. “Where are you?”

“How was your day?” Minho knows he’s avoiding the question but he’s not quite ready to answer it yet. Guilt again creeps up his spine over his selfishness but he is ruthless in extinguishing it, telling himself it’s okay because Kibum doesn’t mind.

“It was fine. I had filming today for most of the day and then we all got in a practice with Jae. Things are coming along good.”

“Yeah?”

“Yeah, it’s good. I wish we all could be practicing together but, you know… Anyway, it will be okay, you always pick stuff up so quickly anyway. You aren’t missing much.”

Kibum says that but he doesn’t quite believe him.

Minho feels like he is missing everything. Like there isn’t enough of him to go around for all he has committed to. But he’s too tired to push his brain along that line of thinking so he switches topics. He makes Kibum do the heavy lifting in the conversation and simply listens to the rhythm of the others voice as the miles pass by. It’s cute to hear him talk about his drama filming and the new friends he’s making especially as he unconsciously slips in and out of the dialect that is native to both his character and himself.

Eventually Kibum prompts him to share how his own filming has been going and he quietly reviews the past days shooting slate. Kibum knows without him saying just how strenuous a pace had been set and accomplished. 

Even as he shares the facts of the day he stubbornly he avoids sharing how his actual day was. It’s a gap he knows Kibum recognizes but he can’t bring himself to begin telling the other how exhausted he is and how he wonders if this is really what he should be doing. There are so many other things looming on his schedule that he feels it was a momentary lapse of judgment to have taken this on too in the midst of it. His body and his spirit could only stretch so far.

He knows Kibum will give him grace in understanding. He knows he will be forgiven in his silence.

He promises himself to make it up to Kibum later.

Mindlessly Minho chats about the upcoming concert and their preparations over it. The more time goes on the heavier sleep weighs on him and somewhere in the haze of his mind he thinks that Kibum sounds remarkably awake for the middle of the night. But the thought slips away without a second thought as he focuses only on the closeness of his final destination.

When the manager hyung pulls to the curb of the tall and imposing building Minho grudgingly unfolds his long frame with a groan and staggers out of the van.

“What is it? What’s wrong?”

Minho waves to the driver and shuts the door as softly as possible before answering Kibum.

“It’s nothing. I’m old that’s all. My body finds new and interesting ways to challenge me all the time.”

Kibum huffs his annoyance and resumes gossiping away about the intricacies of the costume design and how he _simply cannot find_ the one kind of fabric that he wants for the new number. His voice is still steady and soothing but Minho’s heartrate begins to pick up as he enters the elevator and punches the right button.

“So what are you doing tomorrow Bum?” He breaks into the other’s monologue trying to sound casual and unaffected by whatever the response might be.

“Mmm, no schedules- but I desperately need to get to some more shops and wrap up the purchasing for this fabric. How ‘bout you?”

“Same, but I’m planning to sleep for eternity.” His declaration brings a soft chuckle from the other end of the line and he smiles softly in return.

“Are you ready to get some rest yet tonight?”

“You have no idea.”

Minho presses the soft button digits of the door code and lets himself in to the door as quietly as he can. It’s no use however because at the click of the door the dogs come running anyway. Before he can get them to heed his urgent whispers to hush the light in the entryway flicks on and he is caught red handed on his knees with his phone jammed precariously between his ear and shoulder. Comme des and Garcon frolic, and bark, and dance between him and their master. Sheepishly he drops the phone from his ear and ends the call.

“You make a terrible burglar.”

“Hi.”

“Hi.”

Minho pushes up and pads over to the step. Wordlessly he wraps his arms tightly around Kibum and lays his head on the soft silk of the others pajama clad chest.

When Kibum drops his arms around his shoulders Minho feels enveloped and warm all over. Maybe it was the fatigue talking, but it was possibly the most wonderful hug he’d ever experienced. He thinks he could just stand here like this all night.

“Welcome home.”

Minho’s eyes catch the emotions of his whelming heart and they prick with tears.

“Please. Let me hold you.”

Kibum reaches over and kills the lights. Minho feels him reach down in search of his hand and he offers it up willingly.

“Come on. Come to bed.”

~~~

Minho wakens to the rough and wet swipe of a tongue dragging across his chin. The heaviness of sleep still weighs on him and he’s not sure if what he is experiencing is the best or worst wakeup call that he’s ever received. 

He inhales deeply and is met not with the scent of blue sky’s but of wet dog.

He groans and calls out weakly for Kibummie. It’s the only way to be rescued from being eaten alive by the ravenous beasts that are pacing around his vulnerable body as he lays stretched out on the futon.

When the dogs hear Kibum’s scolding they go scurrying off in search of their breakfast and he thinks he is saved- until a much larger form drops down on top of him in their place and flattens the breath from him. Minho doubles into himself and moans his displeasure.

The dogs trot back at his protest and he cracks his eyes open. The canines are twinning it up today in their matching sweaters. He rolls to his back and opens his eyes fully to the morning. His smile is hard to hide as Kibum sits on him sidesaddle and he takes in the matching trio.

“You like them?”

Kibum rolls his eyes so hard Minho fears they may pop from his head.

“Yeah. I do.”

Kibum is obviously pleased at the items and Minho is incredibly happy because he was able to bring that happiness to the other. He thinks how crazy it is that something so little can feel so big in his heart.

“Guess what we are doing this morning?”

“Mmmm?” He fingers the hem of the soft knit and thinks how adorable Kibum looks in the deeply V-necked garment. With his mind wandering into soft and fluffy things it’s no wonder he isn’t prepared for Kibum’s next statement. 

“You are going to tell me where you got these and we are going back there so you can get one too!” Kibum glows with his announcement. His whole face crinkles up in glee and it causes Kibum to push up his glasses that have slidden down a bit with the action.

Minho covers his eyes with his arm and tries to hide from Kibum’s radiance, and his well-meaning intents. “No Kibum. No.”

“Garcon needs someone to match with.”

Moans are Minho’s only response. If only he had seen this one coming he could have done…something.

“Get up sleepy head I have the coffee on already and if you don’t come I’ll drink it all myself.”

Minho knows his threat isn’t empty.

Commes des and Garson yip playfully as they follow their master. Minho rolls to his tummy and rests his chin in the curve of his elbow watching the matching threesome saunter away.

How did he ever end up this lucky?

Minho wasn’t blind to the fact that relationships like his and Kibum’s were one in a million. What he and Kibum had was maybe not fate- but it certainly was a gift.

They might not always have this, just as it is now, but it was moments like this that reminded him they would always have each other. 

And with each other they would always have home.

And that would always be enough for him.


End file.
